London Spotlight: July 2006

Geoffrey Chaucer contends in his prologue to Canterbury Tales that spring is the season when folks want to make pilgrimages. Well, the 14th-century poet might have been surprised to learn that many pilgrims like to make their journeys in the summer months. Indeed, summer travelers to England this summer will get to see the Royal Shakespeare Company’s two-part adaptation of Canterbury Tales on the Gielgud Theatre boards (July 8-September 30).

Someone currently holding Chaucer-like esteem on this isle is Tom Stoppard, whose latest play, Rock ‘N’ Roll is being transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre (July 22-September 24). Sinead Cusack, Rufus Sewell and Brian Cox, who also pulled down glowing reviews during its earlier presentation, are traveling right along with it. Also in the West End, at the Duchess, is a revival of Philip King’s World War II comedy, See How They Run, with Tim Pigott-Smith prominent among the acting troupe.

Another acting great, Michael Gambon will be seen but not heard in a revival of Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe at the Duke of York Theatre. That’s one of the master’s shorties, in which Gambon — who wields stage authority like an iron shield — will react for 30 minutes to a voice-over delivered by equally ubiquitous Penelope Wilton. Since the play is only slightly longer than a sitcom episode, it’ll be repeated twice a night for 30 nights (through July 15).

The Royal Court continues its 50th birthday celebration this month as artistic director Ian Rickson has invited LAMDA (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) and National Youth Theatre to present productions of three plays that first saw the bright light of day as Royal Court offerings. They are Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls (July 18, 20 and 22), David Storey’s The Changing Room (July 19, 21, 22) and Christopher Hampton’s Savages (July 27-29). This is a chance not only to see some of the best British plays of the last 50 years in the venue from whence they sprang but to see some of the actors who’ll undoubtedly be making names for themselves in England and abroad during the next 50 years.

Speaking of the Royal Court, here’s a treat for Rocky Horror Show loyalists. The show, voted the most popular entertainment to be seen in the history of the Royal Court, strides into the West End’s Playhouse for three weeks (July 5-22). David Bedella, who’s getting quite a reputation for his skills, will be playing the leather-loving Dr. Frank ‘N Furter. Also a must-see for music lovers is the London premiere of Jason Robert Brown’s two-hander The Last Five Years, about a deteriorating marriage similar to the composer’s first one (July 18-September 30). Meanwhile, the affection the locals have for another American musical, Guys and Dolls not only continues, it will reach an even higher pitch when film star Patrick Swayze joins the cast as Nathan Detroit on July 10.

If you’ve come to town to see something more classical, the Globe season marches on under new artistic director Dominic Dromgoole with Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors (through October 5). And over at the National, the redoubtable Simon Russell Beale takes on the title role in The Life of Galileo (July 6-August 8).